Facts and Figures
Photo: Photo: Farizun Amrod/EyeEm/Getty Images
On this page you will find an overview of different statistics and data about the FernUniversität, ranging from student and staff statistics to budget data.
- 72,458 Students
- 62,442 are enrolled in degree programs
- 47.04% are women
- 12.8% were admitted based on vocational qualifications
- 7.9% live abroad
- Average age 38.3 years
- 13 regional and study centers
- 7 of them abroad
- 1,803 employees
- 100 professors
- €111 million revenue (financial year 2023)
(Date: winter semester 24/25)
-
Students Total students (including students on a leave of absence) 72,458 Active students (excluding students on a leave of absence) the following entries are based on this figure 71,288 Students by Category Enrolled in a degree program 62,442 Open Access students 5,756 Continuing education students 3,090 Students by Faculty Faculty of Business Administration and Economics 26.2% Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 20.7% Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science 19.6% Faculty of Law 17.7% Faculty of Psychology 15.8% Gender male 52.66% female 47.04% other 0.07% not specified 0.23% Place of Residence Germany 65,648 abroad (total) 5,640 abroad (Europe only) 5,201 Citizenship Germany 63,888 other nationalities (total, including stateless) 7,400 other European nationalities 6,025 Average age (in years) 38.3 Employed 75% Previously completed a university degree 52% Source: internal student statistics
-
University Staff (Date: 1 April 2024)1) Total number of employees2) Full-time equivalents7) Staff financed through the university budget and third-party funds Total Women Total Women President 1 1 1 1 Head of Administration 1 1 1 1 Total professors3) 100 30 99.98 30 W2/3 non-tenured professorships4 3 4 3 Junior professorships6 3 6 3 Interim professorships2 1 2 1 Academic Staff 604 290 518.42 237.73 Academic and student assistants4) 232 152 57.09 36.24 Tutors5) 194 86 35.88 20.99 Administrative and technical staff6) 671.5 454.5 579.99 375.54 Total university staff 1803.5 1014.5 1293.36 702.50 1) Data from the BI (Basic data from April 2024).
2) Not including staff on special leave in accordance with collective labor agreements and civil service law, those receiving temporary pensions, on parental leave, or on secondment. In contrast to the previous “headcount”, the adjusted headcount has been used since the cut-off date of January 1, 2022. This means that persons who, for example, work in two areas of the FernUniversität are counted as 0.5 in the headcounts of the areas.
The total headcount of the FernUniversität thus corresponds to the sum of the headcounts for the individual areas.
3) Including W1 professorships.
4) Includes academic assistants and student assistants.
5) Includes academic online tutors and mentors.
6) Including trainees.
7) Full-time equivalents represent the relationship between employees’ individual working times and full-time employment as defined by law or collective labor agreements.
-
Budget 2023 Revenue €111 million including: Ongoing state funding €83.2 million Revenue from fees and other income €19.3 million Third-party contributions / Continuing education €8.5 million Other temporary state funding
(not included in revenue above)€19.3 million Higher Education Pact1 €5.8 million Future fund “Strengthening Study & Teaching”2 €4.7 million Other funding3 €8.8 million 1 Share of the Higher Education Pact III (HSPIII) in ZSL
2 Special higher education contract on the future fund “Strengthening Study and Teaching” (Zukunftsvertrag »Studium und Lehre stärken«, ZSL)
3 Subsidies, e.g. cybersecurity, EGovG NRW, Zukunftsfonds
-
You will find a more detailed overview of the current semester, student statistics by semester, and graduation statistics over time at our in-depth statistics page (German).
